50/50 Tour Local Bazaar + Local Cuisine with a Spice of History of Bukhara

Hamza is very knowledgeable and took us on a tour of the history of Bukhara in a very memorable manner. He has a very good understanding of the history of the place and he connects all the aspects of the architecture we see with the historical context. He answered many questions in detail. He also has a very dry sense of humour and a lovely style. He kept us all engaged for 4+ hours even in blazing sun.

We only had one day in Bukhara, so we booked this walking tour to make the most of the day. The guide changed the start time from afternoon to morning with less than twelve hours notice. He then had the audacity to say that because we had not paid in advance, he was under no obligation to run the tour at the advertised time. He did not apologise, offered no alternative and it was too short notice for us to arrange a private paid tour. We were extremely disappointed. If you are short on time, I'd recommend against relying on this tour guide.

You could think that a tour that doesn’t touch main attractions in bukhara is not worth it..but well, you would be wrong. The tour is very well designed in my opinion, well structured and focused on history, culture and food. Besides a great introduction about Bukhara (and Uzbekistan) history, then Hamza uses a specific mosque, a mausoleum and a madrasa to expand his speech giving more general and “wide” information valid for all sorts of monuments like those. Bazar tour was quite interesting too..going in there with someone who speaks the language can definitely be useful and he’s willing to help you find what you need if you have specific interests (like kurt, for me :) ). Definitely recommend to walk with him to learn, eat and enjoy a few hours.